editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk Siegler reports for NPR , based out of NPR West in California. Siegler grew up near Missoula, MT, and received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado. He’s an avid skier and traveler in his spare time.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk SieglerTue, 13 Feb 2018 00:09:27 +0000Kirk Sieglerhttp://ksut.org
Kirk SieglerRanchers across the West watched intently as the federal government prosecuted a Nevada ranching family for leading armed militia standoffs over cattle grazing on public land. Last month, the case against Cliven Bundy and his sons collapsed and now they're calling on other cattlemen to defy federal grazing rules and regulations. The question now is whether – or if – that will resonate among scores of other ranchers who rely on federal public land to graze their cattle. A visit to the mountains in a remote corner of southern New Mexico may offer a glimpse into the more mainstream heart of the industry. "It's rugged country, a lot of it is not accessible any other way than horseback," says rancher Gary Stone as he looks across the lush forested plateau of the Sacramento Mountains. At 9,000 feet above sea level in places, the mountains tower over the brutal deserts of White Sands and the sprawl of El Paso, Texas, below. This island of grasslands and forest has long been coveted byIn Rural New Mexico, Ranchers Wage Their Battle Through The Courts http://ksut.org/post/rural-new-mexico-ranchers-wage-their-battle-through-courts
84490 as http://ksut.orgThu, 08 Feb 2018 13:11:00 +0000In Rural New Mexico, Ranchers Wage Their Battle Through The Courts Kirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal prosecutors have suffered another serious setback in their attempt to convict the Bundy family for leading armed standoffs against the government in the West. A federal judge yesterday declared a mistrial in the conspiracy case against rancher Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and another member of the Bundy militia. The judge said prosecutors had willfully withheld evidence in the case of that 2014 armed standoff near the Bundy ranch. Here's NPR's Kirk Siegler. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: For the Bundy's, this is a clear, if partial, victory. A retrial could come early next year. But for now, outside federal court in Las Vegas, Cliven's son Ammon sounded thrilled talking to reporters as his supporters clutched pocket-sized constitutions and streamed his comments on their phones. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) AMMON BUNDY: I think there's enough evidence there to appear that they wanted a confrontation. SIEGLER: This had beenMistrial Declared In Bundy Ranch Standoff Casehttp://ksut.org/post/mistrial-declared-bundy-ranch-standoff-case
83056 as http://ksut.orgThu, 21 Dec 2017 15:07:00 +0000Mistrial Declared In Bundy Ranch Standoff CaseKirk SieglerWildfires in December are the new norm for California. In the West, they are burning hotter and more intensely than ever due to climate change, and the situation is made worse by the explosion of development in fire prone areas and past firefighting decisions. Here are three reasons the fires are massive and likely won't abate anytime soon. 1. It's nearly impossible to put out a modern mega-fire We can't expect firefighters to control, let alone put out major fires like the Thomas Fire. It's forced thousands to evacuate and destroyed close to 700 homes in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and has quickly become among the top five largest fires in California history. Of the top 10 biggest fires, eight have occurred in the last 10 years. The Thomas Fire is what experts are now calling a mega-fire. It's fueled by ongoing drought, extremely low humidity and Santa Ana winds that make it nearly impossible for firefighters to stop. Often it's been too dangerous for crews to drop water or3 Reasons Why California's Fire Risk Won't Dampen Anytime Soonhttp://ksut.org/post/3-reasons-why-californias-fire-risk-wont-dampen-anytime-soon
82800 as http://ksut.orgWed, 13 Dec 2017 21:41:00 +00003 Reasons Why California's Fire Risk Won't Dampen Anytime SoonKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: When President Obama was in office, he designated vast areas around the country as national monuments. It's a label that restricts land use, like mining, oil and gas development, cattle grazing. Today, President Trump was in Salt Lake City to sign proclamations to dramatically reverse those protections for two of Utah's national monuments called Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. NPR correspondent Kirk Siegler was there, and he is with us now. Hey, Kirk. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Hello, Kelly. MCEVERS: OK, so reversing yet another Obama-era policy, what is President Trump's motivation here? SIEGLER: Well, that's certainly one way to look at it. This is another rollback of something President Obama did - in particular, a proclamation creating Bears Ears National Monument. But this is also a way for the president to get a win with his base. These monument designations have never been popular in a lot of the rural West, whereIn Utah, Trump Announces Dramatic Decreases In Size To State's National Monumentshttp://ksut.org/post/utah-trump-announces-dramatic-decreases-size-states-national-monuments
82528 as http://ksut.orgMon, 04 Dec 2017 21:42:00 +0000In Utah, Trump Announces Dramatic Decreases In Size To State's National MonumentsKirk SieglerUpdated at 9:30 p.m. ET On a visit to Utah on Monday, President Trump announced his proclamations dramatically shrinking the size of the state's two massive national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Taken together, Trump's orders mark the largest reversal of national monument protections in U.S. history. The change has already been challenged in court by conservation groups. The Bears Ears National Monument will go from roughly 1.3 million acres to roughly 228,000 — only about 15 percent of its original size. And Grand Staircase will be diminished by roughly half, from its nearly 1.9 million acres to about 1 million. The specific numbers were provided to reporters by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke prior to Trump's announcement in Salt Lake City. "No one values the splendor of Utah more than you do," Trump told an enthusiastic crowd Monday, "and no one knows better how to use it." He noted that before making the decision, he had discussed it with Zinke and the state'sTrump Orders Largest National Monument Reduction In U.S. Historyhttp://ksut.org/post/trump-take-aim-utahs-national-monuments-reversing-predecessors-legacies
82505 as http://ksut.orgMon, 04 Dec 2017 10:14:00 +0000Trump Orders Largest National Monument Reduction In U.S. HistoryKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: A federal trial opens in Las Vegas today. This is over a 2014 standoff where ranchers drew guns against federal agents. So far, prosecutors have struggled to convict Cliven Bundy and his sympathizers in related cases. Here's NPR's Kirk Siegler. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: It's been more than three years since Cliven Bundy led an armed standoff against federal agents near the family's ranch, and in that time, there was another armed standoff in Oregon and several failed attempts by federal prosecutors to convict the ranchers' militia followers. But this is the big case, the first time Cliven Bundy faces a jury. And in this trial, he and his two sons, Ammon and Ryan, and militiaman Ryan Payne are accused of assault and threatening federal officers and other felony conspiracy charges. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Cheering). SIEGLER: It was a tense and volatile scene in that desert wash back in April of 2014Cliven Bundy And Sons Face A Jury As Federal Trial Opens In Las Vegashttp://ksut.org/post/cliven-bundy-and-sons-face-jury-federal-trial-opens-las-vegas
81463 as http://ksut.orgMon, 30 Oct 2017 09:30:00 +0000Cliven Bundy And Sons Face A Jury As Federal Trial Opens In Las VegasKirk SieglerChris Hernstrom was brewing in the craft beer mecca of Bend, Ore., when an ad caught his eye: Want to live somewhere gorgeous and make beer for a small community? "It just seemed like an interesting challenge to come out to basically the exact opposite of Bend, some place where the brewing industry is still in its fledgling stages," Hernstrom says. That place, Hernstrom's new home, is the cattle ranching hub of Valentine, Neb., population 2,700, tucked into the Niobrara River valley in the Sand Hills. Hernstrom is head brewer at the Bolo Beer Company. On a recent weeknight, he was pouring pints of Aquifer Ale and filling carryout growlers of Wild West Wheat. With its modern pendant lights and bar made of reclaimed wood, the newly opened taproom looks as if it would be more at home in Seattle or Denver than in rural Nebraska. And that is no accident. After Hernstrom was recruited to town, he noticed there were a lot of recently transplanted 20- and 30-somethings — some new to town butTapping Rural America: Craft Breweries Pour New Life Into Small Townshttp://ksut.org/post/tapping-rural-america-craft-breweries-pour-new-life-small-towns
80787 as http://ksut.orgSat, 07 Oct 2017 14:33:21 +0000Tapping Rural America: Craft Breweries Pour New Life Into Small TownsKirk SieglerNext door to the Mandalay Bay casino where Sunday night's shooting rampage occurred on the Las Vegas strip, British tourist Gary Shepherd was struggling like nearly everyone else to process what happened. "Whether this will finally change your gun laws, I fancy not, personally," Shepherd says. The country's latest – and now deadliest in recent history – mass shooting has again reignited debate over gun control, and whether tougher gun laws could prevent future tragedies. The early analysis is that Shepherd's hunch is probably right. Just like in many other western states with large rural populations, Nevada's gun laws are relatively lax, and have proven hard to change. Hunting, recreational shooting and gun ownership is woven tightly into a lot of people's identities here. And even in more liberal-leaning Las Vegas, gun tourism is nearly as ubiquitous as gambling and stage shows. "We have a very strong gun culture, especially in rural Nevada and in Mesquite which is where the shooterLas Vegas Massacre Prompts Further Look Into Nevada's Gun Lawshttp://ksut.org/post/las-vegas-massacre-prompts-further-look-nevadas-gun-laws
80665 as http://ksut.orgTue, 03 Oct 2017 20:51:00 +0000Las Vegas Massacre Prompts Further Look Into Nevada's Gun LawsKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Now, much of the country's attention is focused right now on the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and also the potential destruction from Hurricane Irma, which has arrived in the Caribbean. But here in the American West, there are some states dealing with their own natural disasters, large out-of-control wildfires. And NPR's Kirk Siegler reports they're just getting worse. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Climate scientists believe the wildfire season in the hotter and drier West is up to two months longer than it was just two decades ago, a troubling stat that Montana Governor Steve Bullock says hit home recently. Resources are stretched so thin in his state that he ordered his National Guard soldiers to be trained as wildland firefighters to mobilize to the front lines. STEVE BULLOCK: The amount of just human capital is finite when you're looking at 80 large fires burning throughout nine western states. SIEGLER: Montana has so farOut-Of-Control Wildfires Threaten Western Stateshttp://ksut.org/post/out-control-wildfires-threaten-western-states
79811 as http://ksut.orgWed, 06 Sep 2017 08:59:00 +0000Out-Of-Control Wildfires Threaten Western StatesKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The Trump administration appears to be moving ahead with plans to dramatically reduce the size of some national monuments that protect federal public lands. Today was the deadline for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to submit his recommendations to the president as part of a sweeping review of 27 national monuments. NPR's Kirk Siegler is here now to talk about it. He's been covering the review. Good to have you in the studio, Kirk. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Hello, Ari. SHAPIRO: I said, sweeping review. How sweeping is it? What's actually being looked at here? SIEGLER: Well, let's start with an important distinction. This review looks at national monuments that are a hundred thousand acres or more in size. We're not talking about historical sites like out on the National Mall or battlefields. And so a lot of this review also looks at monuments that were designated during the Obama administration by executive order. SHAPIRO: What canTrump Administration Moves To Shrink National Monumentshttp://ksut.org/post/trump-administration-moves-shrink-national-monuments
79438 as http://ksut.orgThu, 24 Aug 2017 21:38:00 +0000Trump Administration Moves To Shrink National MonumentsKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: It is wildfire season here in the West. Several large fires are burning in states like Arizona and Utah. Much of the region is coming off of a winter that had record-setting rain and snow, and that's prompting an unexpected warning from wildfire forecasters. The drought is over, but the chances for a bad season are higher than you might think. NPR's Kirk Siegler explains. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Here's the calculus for people like Ed Delgado. His job is to crunch the numbers and turn them into wildfire forecasts. You get a lot of rain. It's beautifully lush and green with tall grasses and shrubs exploding with foliage. ED DELGADO: While it's ended the drought, it's actually produced a lot of fine fuels - grasses and brush. SIEGLER: And that's the catch. Delgado works at the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho. He says it doesn't take long for all that new growth to dry out. For the past few weeks, much of the Southwest hasWinter Snow And Rain May Lead To More Destructive Wildfire Seasonhttp://ksut.org/post/winter-snow-and-rain-may-lead-more-destructive-wildfire-season
77872 as http://ksut.orgTue, 04 Jul 2017 20:48:00 +0000Winter Snow And Rain May Lead To More Destructive Wildfire SeasonKirk SieglerInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending that the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah be shrunk. He also is calling on Congress to give Native American tribes more say in how the new monument is managed. Zinke's recommendation to President Trump, announced Monday, is preliminary. But it signals that the administration does not plan to completely rescind President Obama's creation of the Bears Ears monument late last year in a proclamation. The preliminary report is the first step of a larger review of more than two dozen national monuments that protect U.S. public lands, mostly in the West. The former Montana congressman's decision was awaited as an early test of how the administration will treat public lands issues, in this case balancing the interests of Native Americans, who consider Bears Ears sacred land, and other locals who oppose tough restrictions on other activities. The announcement comes after a four-day tour the secretary made last month to ruralTrump Administration Wants To Shrink Bears Ears National Monumenthttp://ksut.org/post/trump-administration-wants-shrink-bears-ears-national-monument
77184 as http://ksut.orgMon, 12 Jun 2017 23:43:00 +0000Trump Administration Wants To Shrink Bears Ears National MonumentKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: We should soon know more about the future of Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. Covering 1.3 million acres, it includes land considered sacred to Native Americans. President Obama designated it a national monument near the end of his time in office. President Trump is taking a second look at that designation along with 26 other national monuments. He's expected to get a recommendation on how to proceed with Bears Ears tomorrow from his interior secretary. And here to talk more about this is NPR's Kirk Siegler. And Kirk, help us understand why the Trump administration is having another go-around at this designation, particularly for Bears Ears. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Well, Bears Ears is really what spurred on this larger executive order asking the interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, to review the monuments. It's the latest example of a large piece of protected federal land that was done by a president executive orderInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke Reviews Bears Ears National Monumenthttp://ksut.org/post/interior-secretary-ryan-zinke-reviews-bears-ears-national-monument
77115 as http://ksut.orgFri, 09 Jun 2017 20:51:00 +0000Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Reviews Bears Ears National MonumentKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: The town of Cairo, Ill., at the tip of the Mississippi Delta used to be a thriving river port and manufacturing hub. As we've reported recently, it is one of the fastest depopulating towns in rural America. Now some more tough news for the town. It's two large public housing projects are being shut down. And that is leading to questions about whether Cairo can or even should survive. Here's NPR's Kirk Siegler. MONTE ELLIS: What they doing to us, G? KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Monte Ellis and his little sister Ashay's whole lives are being uprooted. ELLIS: Yeah. They're just forcing us out, man, pretty much. ASHAY: They're just saying get out. SIEGLER: Ashay's 11. Her brother Monte, 18. They're standing by what passes for a playground in the battered McBride housing projects. For years, families like theirs complained of squalor conditions here - leaky ceilings, mold, rats. ELLIS: A lot of broken promises. SIEGLER: Last year when theHUD To Begin Relocating Families From Public Housing In Cairo, Ill.http://ksut.org/post/hud-begin-relocating-families-public-housing-cairo-ill
76811 as http://ksut.orgThu, 01 Jun 2017 12:26:00 +0000HUD To Begin Relocating Families From Public Housing In Cairo, Ill.Kirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Russian Americans have been among President Donald Trump's most loyal supporters. After a week of scandals, many say they're unfazed by the recent scandals roiling Washington. We're going to go now to the Brighton Beach neighborhood of New York City, home to one of the country's highest concentrations of Russian Americans and other migrants from the former Soviet Republic. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports that support for the president there is unwavering and might even be growing. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: A few steps off the sweltering Brighton Beach boardwalk, a group of Russian-American seniors is dancing to a traditional band inside the cool, dark air-conditioned Beach Cafe. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing in Russian). SIEGLER: Hardly a few seconds after I announced my presence, the band stops, and the lead singer asks the crowd if anyone wants to talk to a reporter about President Trump. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Russian). SIEGLER:In New York City, Russian Americans Support Trump Despite Recent Scandalshttp://ksut.org/post/new-york-city-russian-americans-support-trump-despite-recent-scandals
76422 as http://ksut.orgFri, 19 May 2017 20:36:00 +0000In New York City, Russian Americans Support Trump Despite Recent ScandalsKirk SieglerA lot of the anger over federal public land in rural Utah today can be traced back to a windy, gray day in Arizona in September 1996. At the Grand Canyon, President Bill Clinton formally designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, more than 100 miles away. "On this remarkable site, God's handiwork is everywhere in the natural beauty of the Escalante Canyons," he said. But Clinton didn't set foot in Utah. The planning for the monument was largely done in secret, and state leaders had little warning it was coming. Now, nearly 21 years later, mistrust toward the federal government persists, in the tightknit, mostly Mormon town of Blanding, Utah. Folks can't help but draw a parallel to how President Barack Obama's sweeping Bears Ears National Monument ended up in their backyard. "I don't understand how it would protect the land when you're inviting thousands of footprints in," says Laura O'Donnell. O'Donnell, who works at Blanding's modest visitor center, says sheWith National Monuments Under Review, Bears Ears Is Focus Of Fierce Debatehttp://ksut.org/post/national-monuments-under-review-bears-ears-focus-fierce-debate
75951 as http://ksut.orgFri, 05 May 2017 19:58:00 +0000With National Monuments Under Review, Bears Ears Is Focus Of Fierce DebateKirk SieglerPhil Lyman cared so much about what he sees as his right to drive all-terrain vehicles into Recapture Canyon, he went to jail for it. "Going into this, you know, I've said a number of times, I'm a foot soldier," the San Juan County, Utah, commissioner says. "I'm not a captain. I'm not a general. I'm willing to die on a battlefield for a good cause." Lyman's battlefield is an old jeep trail near his home in Blanding, Utah, that's become a flash point in the struggle by rural counties that want control of federal public land. The Bureau of Land Management temporarily closed the trail more than a decade ago. Recapture Canyon is prized for its sensitive Native American cultural sites, and ancient artifacts were being damaged and looted. Three years ago, with the closure still enforced, a frustrated Lyman led an off-road vehicle brigade deep into the canyon. Then, protesters kicked up dust as their tires traveled across land considered sensitive to indigenous people while they wavedIn Utah, How You Tread Through This Canyon Mattershttp://ksut.org/post/utah-how-you-tread-through-canyon-matters
75735 as http://ksut.orgSat, 29 Apr 2017 11:57:00 +0000In Utah, How You Tread Through This Canyon MattersKirk SieglerPresident Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday that could end up shrinking — or even nullifying — some large federal national monuments on protected public lands, as established since the Clinton administration. The move is largely seen as a response by the new administration to two controversial, sweeping national monument designations made late in the Obama administration: the new Bears Ears National Monument in Utah considered sacred to Native American tribes and the Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada near the Bundy Ranch, site of the 2014 armed standoff over cattle grazing on public land. In a briefing with reporters at the White House Tuesday night, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the order will direct his department to review all national monument designations on federal public land since 1996 that are 100,000 acres or more in size. The secretary didn't say whether he would recommend that Bears Ears be shrunk or abolished, only that a review of theTrump To Sign Executive Order That Could Shrink National Monuments http://ksut.org/post/trump-sign-executive-order-taking-aim-national-monuments
75590 as http://ksut.orgTue, 25 Apr 2017 23:50:00 +0000Trump To Sign Executive Order That Could Shrink National Monuments Kirk SieglerA quiet change to the website photo banner of a relatively obscure federal agency is causing a bit of an outsize stir on social media. On the top of its home page, the Bureau of Land Management , which manages more than 200 million acres of public land under the U.S. Department of the Interior, swapped out a photo of a young boy and his companion backpacking across a mountain meadow in favor of one showing a massive coal seam at a mine in Wyoming. The agency's mission is, after all, to manage federal land for multiple uses — which range from hiking trails along scenic vistas and in remote deserts to oil and gas fields and, yes, coal seams. But on Twitter, environmentalists — along with some satirists — were quick to pounce on the symbolism. The Trump administration hasn't exactly been shy about its plans to increase fossil fuel development on federal land. The BLM is downplaying the latest Twittersphere uproar. More than anything else, spokesman Jeff Krauss tells NPR, the change inBLM Replaces Mountain Landscape Photo With Coal Seam On Home Pagehttp://ksut.org/post/blm-replaces-mountain-landscape-photo-coal-seam-homepage
74977 as http://ksut.orgThu, 06 Apr 2017 23:24:00 +0000BLM Replaces Mountain Landscape Photo With Coal Seam On Home PageKirk SieglerAs California water officials confirmed Thursday that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada remains well above average, pressure was mounting on the state to lift emergency water restrictions that have been in place for two years. The snowpack across the mountains is now 164 percent of average, a closely watched marker in the nation's most populous state — and biggest economy — where one-third of all the drinking water comes from snow-fed reservoirs. Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown stood in a barren, snow-less meadow near Lake Tahoe and ordered a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use. State regulators also followed with a series of tough conservation and enforcement measures against water wasters. Most users in the state met — and in some cases exceeded — the targets, and today, according to the federal government's drought monitor, only about 8 percent of California remains in severe drought. "This is not an emergency," says Rob Hunter, general manager of the Municipal WaterWith Drought Emergency Over, Californians Debate Lifting Water Restrictions http://ksut.org/post/drought-emergency-over-californians-debate-lifting-water-restrictions
74743 as http://ksut.orgThu, 30 Mar 2017 21:47:00 +0000With Drought Emergency Over, Californians Debate Lifting Water Restrictions